Fears grow about pyrolysis plant

Nia Griffith MP has again expressed concerns about the planning application for a pyrolysis plant, complete with autoclave and four large anaerobis digesters at New Lodge, Cwmgwili. Speaking after a recent action group meeting, Nia said,

“The more we find out about this proposal, the more worrying it is. Information we have obtained has revealed that to be viable this waste plant will need to receive more black bag rubbish than the total volume sent to landfill in the six counties of South West Wales put together. The action group has also carried out research into potential emissions which makes for frightening reading, and they have heard from residents living near other similar waste stations about the stomach-wrenching odours produced by the piles of black bag rubbish and organic waste waiting to be processed – far worse than anything coming from Nantycaws now.

Highly polluted waste water and run -off from the heavily contaminated land seems destined to go into the River Gwili which borders the site, and goes straight into the Burry Inlet with its unique shellfish industry. Speaking to experts, we have discovered that there would appear to be serious shortcomings in the technical specifications, such as the lack of specific data on the processes to be used, making it impossible to calculate the nature of the emissions that will be produced. To raise the temperature sufficiently to make these processes work, the plant would need a constant supply of the high energy components in waste, such as cardboard and plastics, that Carmarthenshire currently recycles. So deciding to burn these instead of recycling would be a very backward step indeed. There are also significant dangers associated with the build up of oxygen which has resulted in explosions and loss of life elsewhere. I shall be raising my very considerable concerns with both the planning and the permitting authorities. “